VOA慢速英语2020 航空公司戴口罩要求鼓励更多人出行

Airline travel in the United States fell more than 95 percent in April. Many people stayed at home because they were afraid of getting the highly infectious¹ coronavirus on an airplane or at the airport.

美国4月份乘坐飞机出行人数下降了95%以上。许多人呆在家里，因为他们担心在飞机上或在机场被感染上高传染性的新冠病毒。

The number of people flying now is still down about 75 percent.

现在乘坐飞机出行人数仍然下降了75%左右。

This shows "traveler confidence is increasing in the United States," says Joe Leader. He heads the Airline Passenger Experience Association. But that percentage represents a large drop from the usual "2.5 million passengers" at this time of year, Leader told VOA.

乔·利德表示，这表明美国旅行者的信心正在增强。他是航空公司旅客体验协会的负责人。利德对美国之音表示，但是这个比例意味着从通常每年这个时候的（每天）250万人次大幅下降。

Airline companies have been disinfecting their aircraft, enforcing social distancing rules and requiring passengers to wear facial coverings.

航空公司一直在对飞机进行消毒，执行社交距离规定并要求乘客佩戴口罩。

Seth Kaplan follows the aviation² industry. He says that as soon as the airlines required face masks, people started flying again.

赛思·卡普兰跟踪航空业动态。他说，一旦航空公司要求戴口罩，人们就会再次开始乘坐飞机出行。

Bill Lentsch serves as chief customer experience officer at Delta³ Airlines. He told VOA that the company is keeping its flights no more than 60 percent full. He said Delta was keeping the middle seats empty, which will likely continue until the end of September.

比尔·兰恩奇是达美航空公司的首席客户体验官。他对美国之音表示，该公司将其航班的满载率保持在60%以内。他说，达美航空将中间的座位留空，这一措施可能会持续到9月底。

At Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C., Francis Massaquoi arrived on a United Airlines flight from Chicago. It was the first time he had flown since the pandemic began in March. Massaquoi said he was nervous at first. But once he got on the plane, he said, he felt better because everyone was wearing a mask.

弗朗西斯·马萨奎乘坐芝加哥飞来的联合航空公司的航班抵达华盛顿特区郊外的杜勒斯国际机场。这是3月份大流行开始以来他第一次乘坐飞机出行。马萨奎表示，他一开始很紧张。但是一旦他登机之后就感觉好多了，因为每个人都戴着口罩。

Law student Sue⁴ Choi flew into Dulles airport on Korean Air. She said she was a "little scared. I'm only traveling now because I absolutely have to," she said, "but I don't feel comfortable with it."

法学院学生Sue Choi乘坐大韩航空公司航班飞往杜勒斯机场。她说自己“有点害怕。我现在只有迫不得已才出行，但是我对此感觉不舒服。”

Kaplan noted⁵ that a lot of business travel has stopped, and most people are visiting friends and relatives. They include people like Donald MacCormack, who was at Dulles flying to Texas after visiting his daughter in Virginia. MacCormack said he also had been a little worried about flying.

卡普兰指出，许多商务旅行都已经停止，大多数人是探亲访友。其中就包括唐纳德·麦克科马克这类人，他在探访住在弗吉尼亚州的女儿后，从杜勒斯机场飞往德克萨斯。

"I'm wiping down my seat," he said, as he was about to get on a flight to Houston.

他说：“我正在擦拭我的座位。”当时他正要飞往休斯顿。

The airlines are trying to persuade the public that travel is safe.

航空公司试图让公众相信旅行很安全。

Airlines for America is a lobbying⁶ group representing the interests of large North American airlines. It said in a statement that the airlines are using high-quality air filters to improve the air passengers breath.

美国航空运输协会是一家代表北美大型航空公司利益的游说团体。该协会在一份声明中表示，航空公司正在使用高质量的空气净化器来改善航空乘客所呼吸的空气。

Most industry observers believe that airline cleanliness will continue long into the future.

大多数行业观察人士认为，航空公司的清洁将会长久开展下去。

Recently, however, the demand for air travel has begun to slow a little. That is probably because some states have announced travel restrictions⁷ as coronavirus case numbers in other areas continue rising.

然而最近，航空旅行的需求开始有所放缓。这可能是因为有些州因为其它地区新冠病毒病例数持续上升而宣布了旅行限制。

Jennifer Rockwell of Alexandria, Virginia, said she is not planning to fly anytime soon. Her parents live in California, where infection numbers have been increasing. Rockwell said she will not visit them until there is a vaccine⁸.

弗吉尼亚州亚历山大市的詹妮弗·罗克韦尔表示，她最近不打算坐飞机。她的父母住在加州，那里的感染人数一直在增长。罗克韦尔表示，除非疫苗出来，否则她不会去探望父母。

I'm Susan Shand.

我是苏珊·尚德。

1 infectious   

adj.传染的，有传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。
• What an infectious laugh she has!她的笑声多么具有感染力啊！

2 aviation   

n.航空，航空学，飞机制造业

参考例句：

• Ten years ago,they began to develop the aviation. 十年前，他们开始发展航空工业。
• Pilots of large aircraft are masters of aviation.大型飞行器的驾驶员是航空学方面的专家。

3 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

4 sue   

vt.控告，起诉；vi.请求，追求，起诉

参考例句：

• If you don't pay me the money,I'll sue you.如果你不付给我钱，我就告你。
• The war criminals sue for peace.战犯求和。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 lobbying   

vi.为了支持或抵制某项特定目标游说（lobby的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• These businessmen have been lobbying a bill through the Senate. 这些商人一直在游说议员通过该项议案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They are lobbying for a reduction in defence spending. 他们正在为减少国防开支而游说议员。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。